Towel-operating mechanism.



0. SCHWIMMER.

TOWEL OPERATING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED JULY 31, I916- RENEWED JUNE5. I918.

1,274,61 1 Patented Aug. 6, 1918.

172;. I. f m,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

oscm scnwmmnn, or Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, assrcuon To a. a. NEWELL, or

. LOS ANGELES, camromvrn. I

TOWEL-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedAug. c, 1918.

Application filed July 31, 1916, Serial No. 112,440. Renewed June 5,1918. Serial No. 239,881.

My invention relates to a towel cabinet for exposing for use a definiteportion of a continuous str p of toweling contained therein, andhasespecial referenceto a simple means foraccomplishing the windlng upofa strip of toweling, an object of this invention being'to provide amechanical combination wherein the take-up of the used portions oftoweling may be effected automatically as the diameter of the roll increases, or in other words, to govern the distance of rotation of thetake-up roller proportionately with the diametrical increase of thetowelingon the roller.

These and other objects are accomplished by the device shown inthe-accompanying drawing, and specially. pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front view showing my invention as applied,

Fig. 2 is a side view of the mechanism, and

Fig. 3 shows a modified form of towel operating device.

My invention comprises generally a cabinet in which is contained a rollof towelin'g, a portion of which is exposed and remains exposed for useas long as the clean towel ing is not exhausted, and the presentation ofa new length of clean toweling'with the concurrent take-up of the usedportion is effected by a single lever operable by the user.

Specifically my invention includes a cabinet 1, or other container,having a door 2, on

which the entire mechanism is arranged to be mounted. p

In a bracket 3, on said door 2, is supported a roller 4, on which alength of toweling 5 is wound. Said roller 4, may be frictionally heldagainst vfree and independent 65 is journaled three rollers 10, 11, and12, the

- operating member.

first and last of which are preferably held in position by a yieldingmeans, as at 13, to enable the same to respond to any irregularities inthe toweling 5, that is drawn between said rollers.

The door 2 is provided with openings 14 and 15, through the former ofwhich the toweling passes after being drawn between the rollers 10 and11, and through the latter of which the toweli'ng enters the cabinet, adeterminate amount of slack being left exposed to form a loop 16, for auser of the toweling.

The toweling 5, after leaving the rollers- 11 and 12, is taken up on aroller 17, journaled in a bracket 18, below said frame.

The rollers 10, 11 and 12, are each provided on one end with gears 19,20 and 21, that intermesh, the central roller being also provided with apinion 22 meshing with a gear wheel 23 on the frame 9. Integral withsaid gear wheel 23, is a ratchet wheel 24, arranged to be operated, by apawl 25, which is carried on a plate 26, pivotally mounted on the samejournal as the gear 23 and ratchet wheel 24.

On said plate 26, is a, stud 27, for pivoting a link 28, whose upper endis provided with a slot- 29, through which is extended an arbor 30, on alever 31, that forms the main Said arbor 30, forms also a pivotalbearing for a link 32, pivotally connected to the end of saidafore-mentioned pawl 8. The lever 31, is pivoted at one end in anextension 33, of said frame 9, and the other end extends out be ond theface of the-door 2,'to afford a ban le 34 for the operator.

The operation of the take-up roller 17 is effected concurrently with theoperating movement of the lever 31, and through the medium of a member35, which may comprise a tubular body 36, pivotally'attached to saidlever 31. Operating in said tubular body 36, is a rod 37.,"held against'disassociation from said body 36, by a pin 38 that extends through theupper end of said rod to hold said pawl 43 in position for engagementwith the ratchet wheel 44, and a spring 46 may be used to lock saidmember 35 in operative position. The ratchet wheel 44 may be engaged bya dog 46 to prevent reverse movement of the take-up roller. 7

The operation of the device is substantially as follows:

As the lever 31 descends, it engages the link 32 which releases the pawl8, from the ratchet wheel 7, leaving the supply roller 4 free torevolve. Simultaneously, the arbor 30 is moved to the bottom of the slot29 in link 28. Thereupon on further downward.

movement of said lever 31, the link 28 is depressed, causing, throughthe plate 26, the pawl 25 to engage and operate, the ratchet wheel 24,whereby the gear wheel 23 is revolved, and throu h whose revolution,motion is transmitted-to the rollers 1O, 11 and 12, through their gears.

As the rollers 10 and 11 are revolved, a supply 6f toweling is drawnfrom the supply roll 4, andfed through opening 14, the used towelingbeing drawn through 'the opening 15 in the door 2, by means of therollers 11 and 12. When the lever 31 is being moved downwardly, itcarries with it themember 35, the lower end 42, of which engages andoperates the ratchet wheel 44 on the take-up roller 17. Thereby thetakeup roller 17 is revolved for a distance equal to the length of theused toweling as fed. As the diameter of the rolled toweling increases,so will also its surface. extent increase proportionately to theaccumulation of toweling, and such increase in surface extent would,with each depression of the lever, require more toweling than thatpassing through the rollers 10, 11 and 1 2, hence it is necessary toprovide for regulating the revolution of the take-up rollerproportionately with the feed, and this is accomplished by the member35, the rod 37 of which, while sufiiciently strong to wind the usedtoweling upon the roller, will yield for the balance of the downwardmovement of the handle or operating lever 31.

The dog 46 falls into place on the ratchet wheel 44 and retains saidroller in position. Upon the return of the lever to normal position,under the tension of a spring 47, the pawl 8 returns to locking positionon the ratchet wheel 7.

In Fig. 3, a form different from the roller feed shown in Fig. 2, isillustrated. The modification consists of a walking beam 48, formed onthe top and bottom with a shelf 49, between which and a pawl member 50the toweling is run. Oscillatory motion is given said walking beam byalever 51, which is connected with said beam by a link 52, and by suchoscillatory motion the toweling is advanced and pulled back into thecase.

What I claim, is

1. A towel cabinet having a plurality of slots therein, a towelingroller therein, a plurality of rollers for drawing and passing thetoweling through one of said slots and returning the toweling throughthe other of said slots, at take-up roller for used toweling, means foroperating all of said rollers simultaneously, and a yieldable rodconnect-- ed with said roller operating means for regulating the travelof said take-up roller as the diameter thereof increases.

2. A towel cabinet having a plurality of slots therein, a'towelingsupply roller therein, a plurality of rollers for drawing and passingthe toweling through one of said slots and returning the towelingthrough the other of said slots, geared means to operate said rollers, alever to operate said geared means, a take-up roller for used.

toweling, and a yielding means connected to and operable by said leverfor moving said take-up roller a distance sufficient only to 'take upthe used portion of toweling.

- 3. A towel cabinet having a plurality of slots therein, a towelingsupply roller therein, a plurality of rollers for drawing and passingthe toweling through one of said slots and returning it through theother of said slots, geared means to operate said rollers, meansconnecting the top and lower roller to enable same to yield tounevenness in the toweling, a lever to operate saidgeared means, atake-uproller in the bottom of the cabinet, and a yielding meancontrollable by the operation of said lever for regulating the travel ofsaid take-up roller as the diameter thereof increases.

In testimony whereof I affix mysignature in the presence of twowitnesses.

OSCAR SCHWIMMER. Witnesses: HENRY E. STORES, JOHN J. NEWELL.

